♥ Happy Teacher's Day!

To all the past teachers who have made a difference in my life and to my current fellow teachers, hoping to do the same for our "kids",  happy teacher's day (:

Around Singapore - SG50!

With Singapore celebrating the year of Jubilee as she turns 50, the atmosphere leading up to National Day 2015 has been one filled with excitement and joy. (: 

Here are some of my SG50 highlights! 

SG50 in school (:

 

To get students into the mood of SG50 as well as allow them to have a hands-on activity recreating Singapore's icons,  the Ministry of Education decided to give all schools a Uniquely Singapore Lego set comprising of:

1.Gardens by the Bay   2. Cavenagh Bridge    3. Changi Aiport

and us lucky teachers got a set as well! (: 

As a kid who spent hours playing with Lego, I was really happy to get one and excited to let my kids enjoy some old-school, low-tech fun as well (:

 

 Getting my kids to make a SG50 themed sandwich for housecraft lessons...

 As well as a SG50 masterpiece for Art & Craft (:

 The hand-drawn version of the masterpiece on the class whiteboard (:

 

 Fuzzy Dog enjoying traditional Singapore ice cream as part of National Day celebrations in school (yummy!)

Check out a cute infographic on traditional Singapore ice cream done by Lemongraphic over HERE!

________________________________________

 SG50 nationwide:

 

 McDonalds really knows us so well! 

Headed over after school to get my fill of twister fries during their limited SG50 favourites promotion. Turns out my 2 favourite menu items (McSpicy and twister fries) are the SG favourites as well. Shiok ah! ;)

 

It happened that the day I went was the week of the SG50 parade hello kitty as well! (:

Was initially planning to get the cute durian kitty but upon seeing the SG50 parade kitty, decided to get that instead. (:

 

Kitty: "Happy SG50 Singapore!" ^.^

-----

More SG50 hello kitty merchandise produced in collaboration with Sanrio (:

Hello kitty stickers: $2.50/pack of 10

Hello kitty water bottle: $14.90-16.90 (depending on where you buy it from)

Available at Sanrio stores as well as other places such as Cheers and Popular (:

 -----

 Was at Changi Aiport T3 to pick a friend up and while waiting, stumbled across a really cool FREE art activity corner where you can use crayons to shade over a template to get these lovely uniquely SG art. (:

Changi Airport T3 Basement 2

 

 Singapore's heritage

Clockwise from top: 

1. A shophouse
(When buildings in Singapore were mostly still low-rise, called a shophouse because the shops were on the bottom floor and the owners would stay on the upper floors)

2. Rickshaw (transport in the olden days)

3. Iconic dragon playground, playgrounds in the past were made of stone (/concrete?)

Food of Singapore

Food is definately one of the main attractions and icons of Singapore (:

1. Chilli crab

2. Satay

-----

Gardens by the Bay, special SG50 display @ Flower Dome

 Orchids (the national flower of Singapore) in all sorts of varieties and colours (:

 Red and white flowers paired together, symbolic of Singapore's national colours.

 -----

The SG50-themed Sentosa

   ♥ SG50 - written with tomato paste while eating at one of the restaurants ;) 

 Merlion light display on every night till 10 Aug (i think)

Majulah Singapura (:

Around Taiwan - Hot spring spa anyone? (:

Besides Japan, Taiwan is also known for its hot spring spas (Taiwanese refer to soaking in the spa as "泡汤"). 

Doraemon seems to be enjoying his soya bean milk spa (: 
hee.

♥19 Little House of Dreams

Little House of Dreams (Singapore. Clarke Quay. Clarke Quay Central)

 First came across this brand when I saw a picture of its Public Garden Flea stall on a blog 2 years back.

The presentation of the cakes looked so pretty so I decided to head down to the flea @ 111 Somerset to try their jar cakes.

Since then, I have never got round to visiting its actual store until recently.

Their permanent store is located at the basement of Clarke Quay Central mall. (Just above Clarke Quay MRT)

True to their style, the shop was very prettily decorated, with pastel furniture and flowers. Definitely hits a soft spot as my kind of cafe (:

The store was pretty quiet when I went on a Saturday afternoon (as with most of the mall actually), so i was able to enjoy the peace and quiet as the sole dine-in customer. (:

 Most of their cakes were sold out when i went at 3pm (probably because it was the eve of Mother's Day)

Strawberry Blanc Cupcake $3.50

A vanilla strawberry base with icing on the top and sprinkled with hearts.

Was kind of disappointed that they only served their cupcakes on paper plates ):

not as nice to take photos with. hahhaa

The texture of the cupcake was a little different form the usual spongy texture, the cupcake has a chewier texture, like that of kueh. Could be the type of flour they used. 

The flavour of the base was not too bad and there were real strawberry pieces inside, but felt it could do with a bit more strawberry. 

The icing was a tad too sweet and a bit grainy/sandy. 

Overall, felt that the cupcakes here were just so-so.

Love their dessert-themed witty phrases table placards(?) (:

 Their workshop area, plus shelves stocked with partyware and baking/home decor items for purchase. Love the pink and blue cake stands and jars! (which are out of my budget ):)

The bright,cheery floral arrangements on the side tables add life and colour to the store (:

The shop also sells some cards and some really cutely decorated  cookies ($3.50)

Bought a cloud cookie for Mother's day. (: 

♥ Loved

Whimsical, pastel-themed decor!

The cheery flower arrangements

Little House of Dreams

Mon-Thu, Sun: 11:00am -8:00pm

Fri, Sat: 11:00am -9:00pm

6 Eu Tong Sen Street

The Central #B1-27E

Singapore 059817

Around Singapore - Campervan galore at Orchard Central

After dinner at TripleOne Somerset, decided to walk around Orchard Central since it has been a long time since I last walked around that area. 

Was delightfully surprised to see a whole fleet of candy-coloured, prettily decorated campervans turned into stalls as part of Orchard Central's "Summertime in the Park @ OC" promotion (: 

Decided not to miss the chance to take all the lovely photos of this creative endeavour by Orchard Central. Definitely have to give them a thumbs up for thinking of more creative ways to attract more shoppers to their mall.

(Orchard Central has always seemed a bit quiet as compared to the neighbouring 313 Somerset, and many of the shops there have come and gone, but have always admired them for retaining their mix of lesser-known brands instead of defaulting to all the big brands like some other malls along Orchard.)

 This first campervan is the designated photozone for people like me (haha), with a bench and a swing for shoppers to pose with the colourful vans in the backdrop. (:

 This campervan was my favourite! The bold blue and red stripes really made it "pop" and of course, who would be able to resist the funky-coloured food posters. Cotton candy anyone? (:

 Maximising every inch of space (including the bonnet). hahaa (:

Check it out!

Summertime in the Park @OC 

29 May - 9 July 2015